The ISU Council gave its agreement in principle to create a series of annual Open International Competitions which shall be skated over a period of three separate television competitions, to be held on three separate weeks in three different geographical locations, in principle one in Asia, one in Europe and one in North America. The participants in this series may be among eligible and ineligible skaters and should be a medallist of either a ISU World Championships or Olympic Winter Games in their respective discipline within the previous ten years.

The initiative was presented by a United States based organization called ICE - International Cup of Skating Excellence, LLC (hereafter called "ICE"), who includes as its Chief Creative Officer the 1984 Olympic Figure Skating Champion, Mr. Scott Hamilton.

Subject to receiving a satisfactory detailed proposal of ICE (location, dates, confirmed cooperation/understanding with the concerned ISU host Members, invited skaters, event format and technical package (free skating only), prize money etc), the ISU is available to sanction three competitions during the season 2011/12 that cannot be in conflict with any ISU Event and/or national championships of the concerned host Members.

Further details and the Announcement shall be released as soon as the specific ICE proposal has been received and approved.

ICE CONCEPT
Select group of skaters invited from all four disciplines: Ladies, Men’s Pairs and Ice Dance.
Three-week competition: Two rounds on consecutive weeks, then the finals.
International series: A different country hosting each week of competition.
Nine hours of compelling TV programming: Three, three-hour programming blocks.
Fresh and unpredictable: Skaters perform new routines in first two rounds.
Head-to-head finals: The top two in each discipline qualify for their championship.
Exciting, fan-friendly performances featuring contemporary music.
Innovative and interactive presentation of elements and scores for television and live audience.
Cash bonuses for landing technically difficult jumps.

I am feeling the same misgivings as Joe about this. Bob Dustin was the producer of many of the cheesiest cheesefests in the 1990s and early 2000s (Too Hot to Skate, etc.) Bobby Goldwater is a big name in sports facilities and venue management. He was part of the management team for Madison Square Gardens for a long time (maybe still is?)

This company is an "LLC" (Limited Liability Company), meaning that investors can buy into the company without assuming liability for its losses. 2012 is not far away. They must have some sponsorships and television deals lined up already.

To me, too, the part about "exciting fan friendly performances to contemporary music" sounds a lot like those shows that hire a rock and roll band to try to attract ...(actually, I am not sure whom.) A cash prize for doing a hard jump seems like a gimmick.Isn't this a competition? Do we have to pay them to put a jump in their competitive programs?

Now here is where Joe and I don't agree. I think the old Marshall's and Campbell's competitions were great. In the fall Campbell's we got the first showing of the skater's new competitive programs for the year, and by the December Marshall's we could see how they were coming along.

There were also some very worthwhile pro-am competitions in the "Masters of Figure Skating" series in 2000, 2001 and 2002 (called the Hallmark Championship in 2002.)

This concept sounds workable to me... although I'm sure I'll dislike most of the music. :sheesh: (I'm frozen in the past musically.) I think the cash for hard jumps is to make sure this isn't just a show-skating contest where jumps are considered dispensable or done at a minimal level. It will also attract the best skaters and deter those who aren't staying in great shape.

This concept sounds workable to me... although I'm sure I'll dislike most of the music. :sheesh: (I'm frozen in the past musically.) I think the cash for hard jumps is to make sure this isn't just a show-skating contest where jumps are considered dispensable or done at a minimal level. It will also attract the best skaters and deter those who aren't staying in great shape.

Like you, I worry about the music. But i'm thrilled at the possibility of substantial skating on TV! I agree with Mathman that some of the so-called cheesefests gave a lot of good skaters a chance to try out new programs, and I have similar hopes for this series. Hey, we're starving out here! Let's hope this is nourishing food for skate fans.

Like you, I worry about the music. But i'm thrilled at the possibility of substantial skating on TV! I agree with Mathman that some of the so-called cheesefests gave a lot of good skaters a chance to try out new programs, and I have similar hopes for this series. Hey, we're starving out here! Let's hope this is nourishing food for skate fans.

will the camera be on the musical act half the time? if the musical act has to be guaranteed 50% face time, how about having the camera on them uninterrupted for the first half of the song, and then the skater comes out for the 2nd half of the song, with the camera on the skater for that portion of the show?

olympia, lang lang is the musical artist for shanghai art on ice, if i didn't misconstrue a post on one of the other boards. would you prefer the camera on lang lang or the skater?

mathman, i don't recall that 'bad love' program--i thought MK skated 'rush' and 'beautiful world' at 2000 masters. i could be remembering it wrong

When the first references were made to this idea , I feared more cheesefests. Then when I heard Scotty was behind it , I felt a bit better because , by and large , SOI has tried to keep a high standard over the years. Now I'm back to feeling ambivalent..I don't know about the jump bonuses..I'm leery of the specifying contemporary music..( I don't watch DWTS , in part because of the contemporary homogenization..if that's a word..of the music.)..I particularly hope they avoid the live music thing.

When the first references were made to this idea , I feared more cheesefests. Then when I heard Scotty was behind it , I felt a bit better because , by and large , SOI has tried to keep a high standard over the years. Now I'm back to feeling ambivalent..I don't know about the jump bonuses..I'm leery of the specifying contemporary music..( I don't watch DWTS , in part because of the contemporary homogenization..if that's a word..of the music.)..I particularly hope they avoid the live music thing.

i didn't mind the cheesefests. for one thing, i liked lisa marie allen and dorothy hamill and rory flack and the other skaters who came out of the mothballs to grace these cheesefests. heck, most of my favorite caryn kadavy programs came from the cheesefest era. even cindy stuart showed me something rarely seen among the wonder-jumper generation (MK and her contemporaries). thing is, those skaters had the artistic control over which cheesy music to use--i don't welcome 'contemporary music' robbing them of that freedom.

i find the inclusion of hamilton anything but encouraging. i don't find SOI to be any bastion worth preserving. for some people any skating is better than none, but the disson shows had the camera man cut away from the skater before the skater even completed a move (a spin, an ina bauer, a spiral)--it just was too disruptive for me, aside from the fact that HD tv is not kind to the 'contemporary' bands disson's camera zoomed in on. if i'm watching skating for the aesthetics, this was the antithesis of it.

we'll see soon enough. i actually liked too hot to skate, although i could have done without the long fluff on tiffany stiegler and her brother johnny one of those years